Math Nostalgia


For slightly unclear reasons, I’ve had a serious case of math (and CS) nostalgia in the last few weeks. On a few occasions when I’ve had thumb-twiddling duties, I’ve found myself doodling equations. I remember more than I’d have expected, though it’s now clearer to me than it was how little that “more” is in absolute terms. I don’t have the time at the moment to pick up the study of such things in any depth, but I’ve recently had warm and fuzzy thoughts about:

  • Fourier analysis
  • Denotational semantics
  • Continuations
  • Homology theory
  • Generating functions
  • Model checking
  • Combinatory logic
  • Galois theory
  • Parallel algorithms
  • Automata theory
  • Category theory
  • Cryptographic primitives

Perhaps it’s seven-year itch.